REVEALED: Inside the intelligence-led operation that forced Oyo kidnappers to flee

Fresh details have emerged on how a coordinated joint security operation forced the kidnappers of abducted Oyo schoolchildren and teachers to abandon their captives and flee deep into the forest, bringing an end to one of Nigeria’s most high-profile school abductions in recent years.

The successful rescue, which ended the victims’ 56-day captivity, followed an intensive intelligence-led operation involving troops of the Nigerian Army, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) Tactical Team, the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), the Police Air Wing and local vigilantes.

According to security sources familiar with the operation, the rescue mission was carefully planned to prevent harm to the abducted pupils and teachers while cutting off escape routes used by the kidnappers.

Security operatives reportedly advanced through the forest from different directions over several days, combing difficult terrain and engaging suspected members of the kidnapping gang in separate encounters that disrupted their movement and weakened their ability to hold on to the captives.

One of the security sources disclosed that the operation intensified after intelligence gathered from local vigilantes and community members helped security personnel identify areas frequently used as hideouts by criminal groups.

“What happened was that while the soldiers were trekking through the forest searching for where the children were being held, they kept encountering some of the kidnappers on different routes and neutralising them.

“Initially, they thought the kidnappers would all be together with the children. But as the operation intensified, they discovered that the kidnappers had split into different groups and were fleeing through different routes,” the source explained.

According to the source, the local vigilantes provided valuable information that proved crucial to the operation because they possessed extensive knowledge of the forest and the movement of criminal elements within the area.

“The local vigilantes gave them useful information. They told them that anyone found in that section of the forest was most likely part of the criminal network because innocent people don’t operate there.

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“That intelligence helped the security team. Some of the kidnappers exchanged gunfire with the troops, while others escaped through different routes.”

The source further disclosed that security personnel spent several days inside the forest carrying out painstaking search operations before eventually locating the area where the victims were being held.

“They had been inside the bush for days carrying out the operation. They continued combing the forest until they eventually got to where the children and teachers were being kept.”

By the time the troops reached the location, the kidnappers had reportedly abandoned the victims in a desperate attempt to evade capture.

“When they finally got there, there wasn’t a single kidnapper left. They had abandoned the children and teachers and escaped through different routes because of the pressure from the security operation.

“They had already met some of the kidnappers on the way and killed some of them. The remaining ones fled, leaving the victims behind because they could no longer safely move them.”

The source identified members of the rescue team as troops from the 2 Division of the Nigerian Army, operatives of the Office of the National Security Adviser Tactical Team, personnel of the Nigeria Police Force Air Wing, members of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) and other specialised security units working under the coordination of the National Security Adviser.

“It was a joint task force. But the people who really led the operation were the NSA Special Squad, although military personnel and other security agencies also participated because they were all working under the coordination of the National Security Adviser,” the source added.

The Presidency had earlier confirmed that all the surviving abducted pupils and teachers had been rescued.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced the development, saying the victims regained their freedom through a coordinated operation carried out by the nation’s security agencies.

He subsequently disclosed that eight suspected kidnappers were arrested during the rescue mission and are currently in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), while several other members of the gang were neutralised.

Onanuga also revealed that no ransom or prisoner exchange was involved in securing the victims’ release, dismissing reports suggesting that the Federal Government negotiated with the kidnappers.

According to him, one of the notorious kingpins whose release had reportedly been demanded by the abductors remains in government custody and is being prosecuted for terrorism-related offences.

President Bola Tinubu commended the military, the DSS, the Nigeria Police Force and intelligence agencies for the successful operation, describing it as a major victory against criminal elements terrorising communities.

The President also directed relevant government agencies to provide immediate medical attention, trauma counselling, rehabilitation and other forms of humanitarian support to the rescued pupils and teachers as they recover from their ordeal.

The victims were abducted on May 15, 2026, after heavily armed gunmen attacked three schools in Yawota and Ahoro-Esiele communities in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.

The coordinated attacks targeted Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Community Grammar School, Ahoro-Esiele, and L.A. Primary School, Esiele, where dozens of pupils and teachers were marched into nearby forests at gunpoint.

The attack claimed the life of Assistant Headmaster Joel Adesiyan, who was shot while attempting to protect the children. Another teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was later killed while in captivity, a development that intensified public outrage and heightened pressure on security agencies to secure the release of the remaining victims.

The kidnapping triggered nationwide condemnation, protests by parents, labour unions, teachers and civil society organisations, while the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) embarked on an industrial action that disrupted academic activities across Oyo State.

During the crisis, President Tinubu approved the deployment of specialised security personnel and authorised the recruitment of 1,000 forest guards to strengthen security across vulnerable forest corridors in Oyo State as part of broader efforts to combat kidnapping and banditry.

Although security agencies are yet to release a comprehensive operational report detailing every aspect of the mission, the rescue has been widely described as one of the most successful intelligence-led hostage rescue operations carried out in Nigeria in recent years.

Investigations are continuing as security agencies intensify efforts to apprehend the remaining members of the kidnapping syndicate and dismantle criminal networks operating within forests across the South-West.

REVEALED: Inside the intelligence-led operation that forced Oyo kidnappers to flee